How not to fail: Secrets from PN Coaching

Video Transcript

Self-directed fat loss programs fail a staggering 98% of the time. And everyone knows this. You may have tried and failed yourself once or twice. And if not, you definitely know someone who has.

This fat loss thing – it’s not always easy to do on your own. Yet people also lose fat successfully all the time. They’re a small percentage, but when you actually count them up, it’s a pretty big number of real people. Thousands of them, losing fat, getting in great shape, and staying that way.

In fact, at Precision Nutrition alone we coach thousands of clients each year to successful body transformations, and you can see their pictures and read their stories all around our site.

So if people are losing fat, then what’s the difference between those who make it, and those who don’t? Well, one thing successful people do is find help. They find a coach who’s helped other people like them, and they do what the coach says. Or they find a friend who’s lost fat and do what they did.

They do something — anything — to find a real human relationship with someone who knows what to do and has really, obviously, done it. And then they do it too. You see, mentorship and support are absolutely essential to fat loss. Those who have it, succeed. Those who don’t, fail.

So the simplest thing you can do to ensure success is to find someone to teach you how. But why? What do people get from a great coach or a great mentor that they wouldn’t get otherwise?

Well, there are a few things. But, for now, I wanna share the most important one. So pay close attention here.

You see, the human brain is made to analyze things, which is great. But analysis leads to inaction. A great coach, on the other hand, is trained to simplify things to the point where you feel confident enough to skip the analysis. And actually start doing.

Here’s an example of what I mean.

If you browse around the web, you can access everything ever written on the subject of nutrition, from cooking to nutrient biochemistry. And each thing you read will lead to another, and another, and another, until you’ve amassed a library of information.

But you can’t act on a library of information. And when you try to act, you often find there’s simply too much. This is what every great coach understands. And it’s where everyone who goes it alone seems to fail. We see it all the time.

People kick off a new fitness program by trying to go to the gym every single day. They try to eat nothing but perfectly healthy meals. They add in a handful of new supplements. And so on.

But by Week 2 they’ve realized they can’t do it all and still have a life. And soon they’re back to where they started — except now, with a little less confidence in their ability to ever lose fat again.

In stark contrast, people in our coaching programs start with one simple thing. For the first 3 weeks – we have them do nothing but take fish oil and a multivitamin. That’s it. Each day. Takes about 60 seconds, and they’re done.

Now, why would I do that? It seems like I spent a long time earning a PhD just to tell someone to take a fish oil supplement. Well, here’s what I know.

I know that if I ask a client this question:

On a scale of 1-10, how confident are you that you can do what I’ve prescribed every day for the next 30 days?

… and they answer anything less than a 9 — they’re going to fail.

I’ve coached clients for the better part of the last 15 years, and I’ve learned that lesson the hard way. So, if someone answers anything less than a 9, I give them a little less to do, and I ask them the same question:

On a scale of 1-10, how confident are you that you can do what I’ve prescribed every day for the next 30 days?

… and I keep subtracting, and I keep asking, until I get either a 9 or a 10. At which point, the client usually says, “Are you friggin’ kidding me? Is this a joke? Of course I can do that.”

And you know what I say then?

“Let’s begin.”

You see, Precision Nutrition produces more dramatic body transformations than anyone I know of. And through our Certification program, we work with the best fitness professionals in the world.

And I can tell you that every great coach does some variation of that exact process. They make it so simple that the client thinks they’ve made it too simple. And they start from there. The beauty of it all is this: if you put your ego aside, you can do it too.

Take my word: you can’t do it all at once. But you don’t have to. So just let go of that expectation right now. Instead, pick one proven behavior to start with. In fact, any of the strategies we taught you in this course will do.

Make a good fat loss breakfast this morning. Or even simpler, do what our clients do — practice by taking fish oil and a multivitamin each morning.

Ask yourself this: how confident are you that you can do it every day for the next 30 days? If it’s not a 9 or 10 out of 10, make it easier until it is. Then do it every day for 30 days. Then, and only then, do you add another simple but meaningful habit. And then another one.

The same way you would learn math, or learn to talk, or learn anything, you’re going to learn to get in shape. In fact, I’ve attached a sheet showing you exactly how to get started. I strongly recommend you give it a read, and more importantly, give it a try.

Now, if you think this is too simplistic, you’re not alone. I once had a client write a pretty critical review of our Lean Eating Coaching Program.

He had struggled being overweight for much of his adult life, and felt we were holding back key information. He felt we should have given him more work to do, right from the beginning.

But a year later he had won our $10,000 grand prize and had lost 70lbs in the process. Doing it his way got him fat. Doing it our way got him 10 grand richer and in the best shape of his life.

Remember, 98% of self-directed fat loss programs fail, because people try to do too much at once. But there is a better way: you do less, you do it longer, and you get lasting results that aren’t possible any other way.

It’s that simple. You decide.

You can make fat loss complicated – and most likely fail. Or you can make it simple, use the strategies you’ve learned in this course, and see impressive success.